1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for settling an account for a purchased product, using settlement means, such as a credit card, etc., in an online shopping system through the Internet.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with the wide use of the Internet, merchant sites for selling products appear on the Internet, and various online shopping services are provided up to today. Conventionally, in the case where to purchase a product through any of the merchant site, an account for a purchased product is generally settled based on a credit card number which has been input by the user who ordered the product.
However, a technique for settling an account for a purchased product, in conventional online shopping systems, has the following problems.
Every time a user purchases a product, he/she needs to fill in a particular ordering form with required information such as his/her name, address, credit card number, etc. This is quite troublesome for any users. Even if the user has purchased a product from the same merchant site in the past, the user needs to input the required information. Since there are various types of ordering forms among merchant sites, the user has to fill in the ordering form in accordance with an operational rule of each merchant site.
Every time a product is purchased, it is necessary to send the user's credit card number, etc. to a merchant site through the Internet. Thus, there is a great possibility that personal information is leaked out on the Internet, and that damages to computer systems as caused by “cracking” are found.
Further, in the case where to purchase a product online, the credit card for use as settlement means for settling an account of the purchased product is limited only to a type of credit card specified in the merchant site. Those users who do not hold the type of credit card which is specified in the merchant site have to give up purchasing the product in the end, unless he/she desires to get a new credit card which is specified in the site. Such problems have prevented the popularization of the online shopping.